Marcos Maidana, right, lands a punch on Adrien Broner, during their WBA welterweight title bout on Dec. 14 in San Antonio. Maidana will fight Floyd Mayweather on May 3. / Eric Gay, AP

by Bob Velin, USA TODAY Sports

by Bob Velin, USA TODAY Sports

It will be the smoothness and savvy of Floyd "Money" Mayweather against the raw power of Marcos "El Chino" Maidana on May 3 in a 12-round welterweight unification bout.

The Showtime pay-per-view matchup was announced Monday night by the co-promoters of the fight, Golden Boy Promotions and Mayweather Promotions.

It is expected to be at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, where Mayweather has fought his last eight bouts, though there have been reports that the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, N.Y. is pushing for the fight.

Mayweather (45-0, 26 KOs) is the world's consensus No. 1 pound-for-pound fighter and 10-time world champion, and Maidana (35-3, 31 KOs) is a slugger from Argentina who is coming off a stunning upset of previously undefeated and heavily favored Adrien Broner on Dec. 14.

Mayweather, who turned 37 on Monday, is coming off a year in which he fought twice for the first time in years, and won convincingly each time. His dominating victories against Robert Guerrero and Canelo Alvarez made him the choice of several publications as fighter of the year. He won the WBC welterweight belt against Guerrero and the WBC and WBA junior middleweight titles from Alvarez.

The Alvarez fight was the largest-grossing fight in boxing history with more $150 million in revenue, including a record live gate of more than $20 million.

In Maidana, the WBA welterweight champion, Mayweather is facing one of the most hard-punching opponents of his 17-year career.

"Marcos Maidana's last performance immediately brought him to my attention," said Mayweather. "He is an extremely skilled fighter who brings knockout danger to the ring. I think this is a great fight for me and he deserves the opportunity to see if he can do what 45 others have tried to do before him -- beat me."

Maidana, 30, dominated Broner from the opening bell and knocked the Cincinnati fighter and three time champion down twice. Maidana connected on 231 power punches on his way to a unanimous decision by margins of 117-109, 115-109 and 115-110.

The victory was the fourth in a row for Maidana, the former WBA 140-pound world champion whose hard-charging, aggressive style has earned him knockouts in 82% of his victories. That ties the late Diego Corrales and Jose Luis Castillo for the highest knockout percentage of any Mayweather opponent and is one of the highest in the sport.

"I am extremely happy to be facing Floyd Mayweather because it will give me the opportunity to show the world that I am the best welterweight in the division," said Maidana, who is expected to bring in Latino boxing fans on Cinco de Mayo weekend. "I just handed a great defensive fighter his first loss and I plan to do the same to Mayweather. I don't care whether he's the best and undefeated. I will bring some real Latino power to him on May 3rd."

Leonard Ellerbe, the CEO of Mayweather Promotions, called it "an extremely dangerous fight for Floyd as Marcos Maidana is a technical knockout artist and continues to show us that he gets better with each fight. Maidana showed so much in his last performance, he's clearly at the top of his game and is a great matchup for Floyd."

Mayweather posted to his Twitter and Instagram accounts on Super Bowl Sunday asking fans to vote for his next opponent between Maidana and Amir Khan. The vote was overwhelmingly in Maidana's favor.

"In Marcos Maidana, Floyd Mayweather may be in for his toughest opponent ever," Richard Schaefer, CEO of Golden Boy Promotions, said. "Maidana is the type of fighter who will find out if Floyd still belongs on top of the pound-for-pound list. He's strong, tough and aggressive. In giving Adrien Broner his first loss, he showed that he won't be intimidated by talk, a big fight atmosphere or an unbeaten record. I give Floyd a lot of credit for stepping up to the plate and testing himself once again. He is a true warrior, and the fans will be the winners on May 3rd."

Stephen Espinoza, the Showtime Sports boss, said, "Marcos Maidana is a boxer whose fearsome power can change the trajectory of a fight with a single punch. Couple that with his ferocity and perseverance and you have the recipe for an incredible fight on the grandest stage of the sport."